Chapter 213 I Shouldn't Have Deceived Ping An's Feelings
"Granny, do you think he blames me?"
"If I hadn't insisted on exposing that the person wasn't him that day, I wouldn't have offended the Empress, and there would have been all that happened afterward."
"How can you blame yourself? Blame the Princess of Langya."
“She clearly knew who everyone present was, yet she didn’t remind you. In my opinion, she did it on purpose.”
“If the Prince of Langya hadn’t insisted on doing this, you wouldn’t have been implicated. He must have said something to the Emperor.”
"In my opinion, it's all the fault of that couple."
“If it weren’t for those two, you wouldn’t have had to suffer in a place like Cangzhou.”
As she spoke, Granny Xi wiped away her tears with heartache.
Ping An clenched his fists tightly, "I will make them all die!"
"Especially that Jiang Wan Ning!"
Granny Xi leaned forward and whispered, "If this old servant is not mistaken, this Jiang family's old residence is in Cangzhou."
“Jiang Wan Ning’s second uncle lives in Cangzhou. Her second uncle’s family has a cousin who married a scholar from Cangzhou.”
"Her second uncle wasn't a particularly impressive person; he was just a small businessman and was moderately wealthy."
As Ping An listened to these words, he already had an idea in mind.
"Go and find out what the relationship is between Jiang Wan Ning and her cousin's family."
Having served Ping An for so many years, Granny Xi naturally knew what Ping An wanted to do; otherwise, she wouldn't have said, "This old servant remembers that they had a good relationship."
"But the second son of the Jiang family didn't want to trouble Marquis Ningyuan all the time, and he didn't like being an official, so he started a small business."
"That's good since we have a good relationship."
"If we can't deal with Jiang Wan Ning now, surely we can deal with her cousin?"
Thinking this way, Ping An felt that going to Cangzhou wasn't so bad; at least there was something that would make her feel better.
"It's getting late, Your Highness, please get in the carriage."
Ping An boarded the carriage and didn't lower the curtain until the city gate disappeared from his sight.
His eyes were filled with disappointment and reluctance.
Song Zhuran, who had been hiding in the shadows, did not come out until the carriage had disappeared.
"Is this your purpose?"
A man in black walked out from behind Song Zhuran.
"Isn't this a good idea, Master?" Song Zhuran smiled sweetly at the man in black. "Master has been hesitant to move this piece, so I'll help you out."
"I've been keeping this pawn, Granny Xi, for so many years, and I shouldn't waste it now."
If Ping An does something in Cangzhou, the Grand Princess will inevitably suspect Granny Xi.
"From now on, you are not allowed to act without my approval."
"Does Master think I did something wrong, or is it because I've worked with the Grand Princess for so long that I've developed feelings for her and can't bear to part with her?"
The man in black gave a warning look.
Song Zhuran wasn't afraid at all. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and said, "Alright, Ranran is just afraid that Master will be soft-hearted."
"Ranran knows better than anyone what Master is planning. Master has been hiding behind the scenes for so many years, enduring for so long, just for revenge, isn't it?"
"Master taught Ranran martial arts and cured her illness. Ranran most wanted Master to succeed."
"You shouldn't have deceived Ping An's feelings."
Song Zhuran pouted, "She did it again..."
“I’m afraid the Grand Princess won’t let you off the hook. She will definitely investigate thoroughly, and then she will implicate you and me. All these years of planning will be in vain.”
"Our lives will be in danger as well."
Hearing this, Song Zhuran felt a little scared. She had almost forgotten that the Grand Princess was a madwoman, and seeing her that day had indeed left a deep impression on her.
She was just too jealous, which is why she deliberately seduced Ping An.
She knew that her feelings for her master had gone beyond the master-disciple relationship, so she couldn't bear to see any woman appear by her master's side, even if the Grand Princess didn't know her master's true identity.
"Master," Song Zhuran said coquettishly, taking the masked man's hand, "Ranran knows she was wrong."
The man didn't say anything more. After all, she was his apprentice whom he had personally trained, and he wanted to keep her in the palace to use her for his own purposes.
“That Jiang Wanru can be used as a chess piece.”
"The Grand Princess gave her medicine to control her condition. Master believes you know what to do."
Song Zhuran patted her chest and assured her, "I'm best at making people remember kindness."
“However, these past few days, I’ve felt that my older sister is a bit wary of me. I’m wondering if Jiang Wan Ning said something to my older sister.”
Song Zhuran said, "After all, my actions that day were indeed somewhat different from usual."
"Jiang Wan Ning shook me off again and went back to the Marquis's mansion first."
“If she finds out that my sister is poisoned…” Song Zhuran frowned her beautiful embroidered eyebrows, “If my sister is pregnant, it will be difficult for me to enter the palace.”
The Song family sent her into the palace simply because Song Zhuyi couldn't have children, so that they could have a child themselves, preferably a prince, and then have him adopted into Song Zhuyi's name.
Only in this way can the honor of the Song family be preserved.
If Song Zhuyi becomes pregnant first, the Song family will inevitably use her to form a marriage alliance with someone else to consolidate their position in the court.
She has plenty of ways to seize the emperor's favor once she enters the palace, and then she can fake a pregnancy...
However, if she marries someone else, she will not only be unable to help her master in the slightest, but she will also be trapped in the inner quarters.
"You don't need to worry about these things. You'll be fifteen next month, and I'll find a way to get you into the palace as soon as possible."
"Even if the Empress's poison is cured, her body will need at least six months to recover before she can conceive. By then, you might already be pregnant with the Emperor's child."
Song Zhuran was finally relieved.
"Alright, it's getting late, let's go."
Song Zhuran nodded, glanced at the road ahead, and silently recited in her heart,
Chen Ping'an, I hope you won't let me down.
A slow smile played on his lips, the moonlight illuminating his face, making him resemble a carnivorous flower...
"This person looks just like a man-eating flower."
Shen Ruzhi looked at the person dressed in Western Regions clothing, with deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and a somewhat cunning smile.
“Most people from the Western Regions look like this, but it’s rare to see someone with a face like hers,” Jiang Wan Ning replied softly.
"If I hadn't wanted to come with you, I wouldn't have come to this banquet hosted by Jiang Wanru."
"But you know what, these things are really rare. Most of them have never been seen in Dongling."
Shen Ruzhi and Jiang Wanning strolled among the merchants from the Western Regions, admiring the dazzling array of goods and the Western Region girls dancing with swaying waists.
"Ladies," a maid suddenly stopped Jiang Wan Ning and Shen Ru Zhi from going anywhere, "Today's banquet requires you to change into Western Region costumes."
As she spoke, two maids carrying trays stepped forward and presented two pieces of clothing from the Western Regions to her.
"Who made that rule? Why wasn't it mentioned beforehand?"
The maidservant bowed and said, "This was decided yesterday after discussion, and it was His Highness Prince Jin's decision."
"Prince Jin? Wasn't this banquet hosted by Jiang Wanru?"
"Why is it the Prince of Jin again?"
"This servant has no idea," the maid said softly.
Seeing that everyone inside was dressed in the prepared Western Region clothing, Jiang Wan Ning said, "Zhi Zhi, let's change into these first before we go in."
That's good, it will make it easier for her to find the person with the birthmark on their lower back.
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